HOPE MILLS — A 50-minute running clock is all the Richmond Senior High School football team had to work with during Friday’s scrimmage, but head coach Bryan Till said his team made the most of it.
Competing in the annual Cumberland County Schools Jamboree, the Raiders faced off against South View High School on day two of the event. The scrimmage was held at Gray’s Creek High School, as Richmond was joined by several other Sandhills Athletic Conference teams including Jack Britt, Lumberton and Scotland high schools.
Split into two 25-minute halves, the first half saw Richmond and South View trade 10-play drives starting at their own 30-yard line. The second half resumed with live football, complete with downs and special teams.
In what turned out to be a low-scoring affair in the second half, the Raiders defeated South View 7-0.
“There were a lot of good things tonight, but there are some areas where we still need to improve,” Till said. “The biggest thing tonight was about our guys being able to adjust. (South View) had so many different formations, and it was huge for us to be able to work on our checks and adjustments.
“The guys did alright with their game speed tonight,” he continued. “It was tough because (South View) was coming out of the huddle and as soon as they lined up they were going. It’s a lot harder for us to make adjustments when they came out of the huddle, so it was good for us to see and work on that.”
During the 10-play drives, the Raiders got possession first and junior quarterback Caleb Hood took just two plays to score. He connected with sophomore wide receiver Kellan Hood on a slant over the middle for a 14-yard gain, and hit junior wideout Dalton Stroman on a screen left, seeing the 6-4 receiver sprint 56 yards down the sideline to the end zone.
South View only got one offensive possession during the first half, using all 10 of its plays, but didn’t score. On their final play, the Tigers went for the end zone but the ball was picked by junior safety Isaiah Jones inside the 10-yard line.
Following a five-minute “halftime,” South View started the second half with a three-and-out, forcing a punt.
Taking over at their own 30-yard line, the Raiders would pick up two quick first downs to move the ball to the Tigers’ 40. Facing a fourth-and-one, junior running back Jaron Coleman split the line and raced 31-yards to the house for the lone score of the live scrimmage. Junior kicker Mack West tacked on the extra point with 16:30 to go.
South View moved the ball into Richmond’s territory on the ensuing drive, but a combined sack by senior linebacker Joerail White and senior defensive tackle Xavier Harrington slowed the Tigers. On fourth-and-six from Richmond’s 20, senior defensive end Javon Little forced South View’s quarterback out of bounds short of the first down.
Friday marked one week until the Raiders kick off their regular season schedule, and Till used the final pre-season scrimmage to try and fit the puzzle pieces together for Week 1.
“Scrimmages are all about getting guys experience,” Till explained. “Obviously, we know what the guys coming back can do, but there are still those guys we have question marks about. Those are the guys getting a lot of reps because they’re vying for a position, whether it be ones and twos or twos and threes.”
The countdown is officially on for the season, and the next step for Till and his staff is to game plan for Clayton High School next Friday. Till closed by explaining that game planning, from a coaching and playing standpoint, “is a huge element” of being successful on Friday nights.
Kickoff against the Comets is set for 7:30 p.m. at Raider Stadium.
